Cannabis has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes by various civilizations. Despite this fact, the U.S. Federal Government has classified it at the highest level, making scientific research extremely difficult to perform. Currently the public’s view on cannabis is changing and now over 30 states allow some type of cannabis based products for medical use. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, for cannabis to be truly considered a medicinal drug, guidelines for its use must be established. When doctors prescribe drugs to help improve our health they always tell you when and how much of it should be used to alleviate your symptoms. Currently the bulk of medical professionals are unable to give any such guidelines when they sign off on medical marijuana cards. Determining how and what cannabis based products medical professionals recommend to patients are of critical importance to legitimizing medical marijuana. This point was prominently made during a recent government meeting sponsored by several institutes from the National Institutes of Health, Marijuana and Cannabinoids: A Neuroscience Research Summit, that convened in late March.

Montel Williams, a TV and radio talk show host and advocate for medical marijuana as a treatment for multiple sclerosis and other chronic illnesses, has joined the board of KIND Financial, a technology solutions company, as a key advisor in efforts to support and expand the drug’s use.

A new campaign called “End our pain” is asking people to sign a petition calling on the U.K. to allow all patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) there to have access to medical cannabis as a treatment for MS symptoms, in keeping with countries such as Canada and Germany, and a number of U.S. states.

MMJ Phytotech (ASX:MMJ) has taken its first steps towards its end-goal of filing a New Drug Application (NDA) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to grow and supply medicinal cannabis. MMJ is the first medical grade cannabis company to be listed on the ASX, operating a ‘farm to pharma’ strategy that could see the company bloom into a pharmaceutical company with full supply chain integration.

Australia is expected to legalise the cultivation of cannabis for medical or scientific purposes with a bill introduced to parliament on Wednesday -- the first step towards doctors eventually prescribing it to patients with chronic pain.
The bill will see Australia create a national licensing and permit scheme to supply medical cannabis to patients with painful and chronic conditions on clinical trials.

Syracuse's first medical marijuana dispensary is set to open this week. Etain LLC will open for registered patients Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. But, the dispensary is holding an open house Tuesday at its new facility on Erie Boulevard. Brad Vivacqua is outside of the facility and has details on this.

Multiple sclerosis: Using marijuana or some of the chemicals in the plant may help prevent muscle spasms, pain, tremors and stiffness, according to early-stage, mostly observational studies involving animals, lab tests and a small number of human patients. The downside -- it may impair memory, according to a small study involving 20 patients.

At most offices in America, smoking a joint during your lunch break or eating cannabis-laced brownies at your desk would land you in HR.

While arguing in court that marijuana has no medical value and is a dangerous drug on the one hand, the federal government is patenting marijuana extracts for health-related uses on the other. And now it is set to grant a license to GW Pharmaceuticals for treating patients with multiple sclerosis with a cannabinoid-based drug called Epidiolex.

MedChew Rx, by AXIM Biotechnology, Inc., the world’s first patented cannabinoid release chewing gum for pain and spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS), is moving into clinical testing. If all goes well, the company plans for a global release date of 2017.

The city’s first medical marijuana dispensary opens Thursday in Union Square, allowing qualified patients a new treatment for symptoms of medical conditions such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

AXIM Biotechnologies Inc, a small, Manhattan-based company with ties to the Netherlands, says it has a trump card in its quest to develop a cannabis-based chewing gum to ease the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

In this Aug. 21, 2015 photo, David Sloan, who is a multiple sclerosis patient and medical marijuana client of the highly successful marijuana seller The Clinic, sits at home in Highlands Ranch, south of Denver. Image Source: AP Photo (Brennan Linsley)

One marijuana business hosts an annual golf tournament in Denver to raise money for multiple sclerosis research. Another Colorado pot company donates to a gay-rights advocacy group and is a sponsor of an AIDS walk.

Talk show host Montel Williams has used marijuana to battle symptoms of multiple sclerosis for 14 years, and he urged Ohioans on Wednesday to pass Issue 3 on the Nov. 3 ballot despite its recreational pot component.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Cannabis is a plant that can be used in a wide range of settings such as medical purposes, a source of fiber and oils, or as a recreational drug. Growing evidence has been reported on the clinical benefits of medical marijuana (herbal form) for treating chronic pain. Currently, several countries in the world and almost half of all U.S. states authorize the use of medicinal marijuana.

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aphios Corporation today announced that it has been awarded Phase II of a Fast Track SBIR grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), NIH for manufacturing cannabidiol (CBD) from marijuana following current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for Multiple Sclerosis and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

Image Source: MEDICALCANNABISNEWSMore and more evidence is accumulating that denying medical cannabis to patients suffering from diseases likes multiple sclerosis should no longer be acceptable under any state’s law.

Israeli researchers have long been on the cutting edge of medical marijuana research. Now a team of scientists from Tel Aviv University have shown that certain compounds found in cannabis can help treat multiple sclerosis-like diseases by preventing inflammation in the brain and spinal cord.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease characterized by the destruction of insulating covers on nerve cells by the immune system. The most common form for the disease, relapsing-remitting MS, is characterized by clearly defined attacks of decreasing neurologic function (relapses) followed by partial or complete recovery periods (remissions). Research into novel therapy approaches continues to investigate safer, more effective alternatives to the currently approved MS therapies. The use of cannabinoid-based therapies in particular appear to show promise for controlling relapses in those with the disease.